1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data communication over a network via a data transmission apparatus that includes keys that each specify a transmission destination.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern computers and network devices can send scanned text and image data over the Internet fax or directly to a computer in a network environment. When sending such data via e-mail or the like, the e-mail address of the recipient must be input, but the input operation using an operation panel or the like is cumbersome, and errors commonly occur, resulting in the e-mail not being received as intended. Consequently, a system has been developed in which whereby a server that manages an address book in which recipient addresses are recorded is accessed from a personal computer or network device (such as an MFP) and the desired recipient is sought using keywords and designated as the recipient of an e-mail. However, this system entails the problem that it is time-consuming to access the address book management server, search for an address and specify the address as the e-mail recipient each time an e-mail is to be sent.
With a one-touch dial feature, common on facsimile machines, when a recipient telephone number that is manually input once is registered as a one-touch dialing number, the recipient can be specified the next time in a single operation via one-touch dialing (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H11-68914). The one-touch dial feature simplifies the recipient setting process and eliminates the need to repeat the cumbersome manual entry process each time a number is dialed. In the system described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2002-232663, a one-touch/abbreviated/group dial information database resides in the network database. The computer user can register, change or delete one-touch/abbreviated/group dial information by accessing this database.
In the network system described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2001-249882, the addressees contained in the address books for all devices connected to the network (such as the server and an MFP) are synchronized periodically, for example. Alternatively, the address book data is maintained on a file server and shared within the system.
In the network described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2002-232663, a one-touch/abbreviated/group dial information database is stored on a database server. A computer user registers, changes or deletes one-touch/abbreviated/group dial information by accessing this database. Each time this is done, the database information is updated, and the facsimile machine, for example, periodically accesses the database, and if the database information is changed, updates the information registered to the corresponding one-touch keys in the facsimile machine.
Where the devices connected to the network each have an associated address book, if the contents of each address book are not updated, communication may be impossible. Accordingly, in the network system described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2001-249882, the names in the address books for each of the various devices connected to the network are synchronized periodically, for example.
In the facsimile machine described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H11-68914, communication errors caused by a one-touch dialing error are prevented. For example, where the other party does not accept a call via a fax number registered with a one-touch key, a warning is issued to the user. This prevents unused one-touch numbers from remaining registered indefinitely. However, if the warning is ignored, there is no improvement in the situation. Where a one-touch dialing function is present, when a fax number or other number is changed, if the numbers registered for one-touch dialing are not updated accordingly, connection via one-touch dialing becomes impossible. Therefore, it becomes necessary to once more manually input the number for one-touch dialing.
In the network described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2002-232663, the computer user can register, change or delete one-touch/abbreviated/group dial information by accessing the database containing such information on the database server. The facsimile machine periodically accesses the database, for example, and if the database information is changed, updates the information registered to the corresponding one-touch keys in the facsimile machine. However, when the user specifies a recipient using a one-touch key, the registered number for that key may have already been changed. Therefore, the information registered for one-touch keys must always be updated with the latest information.
Furthermore, in these conventional technologies, because a recipient and a one-touch key have a one-to-one relationship, where all members of a certain department or section are registered, for example, if a new person is added to the department or section, because updating on a global basis is not possible, it is time-consuming to register this new person in association with a one-touch key.